When I ‘announced’ that I was going to Baros Maldives on a recent trip, something quite special happened: I had literally dozens of readers comment and react to the news in a very unique way. Why? Because many of you have discovered this Maldivian secret sailing paradise and have been going back year after year.

Having been there for 5 days on a recent trip – it is easy to understand why. It is a very small island (with only 70 something rooms, both over water and beach villas), service is incredibly attentive and it does feel like home. You all got to know the staff, or better, the staff got to know you over time and you are not interested in anything else except going back. I get it!

We arrived to this little piece of paradise by speedboat from Male airport (takes 25 minutes and transfers are included for all Sovereign customers) and before we knew it, we really were ready to enjoy our gorgeous beach pool villa at Baros Maldives.

Our beach pool villa at Baros Maldives

Our room was absolutely gorgeous and very very recently updated. The standard was very good and it felt spacious yet very comfortable. These beach pool villas are 130+ sqm and as private as they get.

We had a king size bed with a pop-up TV at the end of it, a seating area and a writing area. The room also had a sizeable storage area which kept our luggage out of sight.

You could also find a Nespresso coffee machine, 2 1.5l bottles of water (replaced every day free of charge), ironing board, iron and new flip-flops.

Being a beach pool villa (which I have to say, is my favourite room category in the Maldives), you have a large outdoor area with your own secluded pool, day bed, 2 sets of sunloungers (one for the pool and one for the beach) and a seating area.

Getting in the spirit of the island, we also ordered breakfast and lunch almost every day – because it rained sometimes, and also because we just didn’t want to leave. And I am sure you can see why we did it!

But needless to say, the best part is, without a doubt, your own ‘private’ stretch of beach. You have your own sun loungers and no one else can use them. We had neighbours as the hotel was at full capacity when we were there, but they were all very quiet. The hotel caters to adults mostly (children under 8 are not allowed) and those who choose this island resort do so to get away from it all. Literally.

The bathroom at Baros Maldives

Our bathroom was mostly indoors and was very spacious. Inside we had a full-sized bath (and don’t you love that bath tray?), separate toilet, shower and double vanity units. The toiletries used were L’Occitane Verbena range which were lovely. My only comment was that we did not have spares for the outdoor shower (but we left a note to housekeeping and they then kept replacing them in both showers).

As expected, the room was cleaned each morning and then turned down before dinner. We never had issues with timings and more often than not, they managed to do it whilst we had breakfast. Overall, service was excellent.

The food at Baros Maldives

Being a smaller island, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of dining options. But they weren’t as limited as I thought: for breakfast you could go to the excellent buffet breakfast (which also offered many cooked-to-order items like eggs, pancakes, etc) or you could order in-villa (with an extra charge).

My highlight for breakfast was having fruit actually cut and prepared in front of you and also what the hotel called ‘Eye-opening shots’, which changed every day. It was a little detail, but a lovely one.

Lime was also opened for lunch (we did try it once, but then indulged in our room every day) and dinner – and we loved the curry options they had. Lots of international cuisine (something for everyone), but we really did enjoy the various types of curry.

On two of the nights we went to Cayenne, which has more of a grill concept, with a starters buffet, which had really good sushi and sashimi options. We then chose the Maldivian seafood platter (approx $130 for 2) which we paired with Cloudy Bay, of course ($120/bottle).

On our last night, we tried the Lighthouse, which is the hotel’s fine dining restaurant. We started our meal outside but due to the rain, we moved inside. The food was excellent and a meal will cost approximately $100-150 per person, depending on what you choose and excluding drinks.

On the photo above you can see Lime from 2 different perspectives (and also the Lighthouse restaurant).

Below, you can see the main bar (which I found incredibly quiet at all times, and honestly quite surprising as people did disappear immediately after dinner), and the ‘Lighthouse’ restaurant.

I know you must be asking.. what about the drinks? Well, there were also options. We loved watching the sun set every day at the Lighthouse Lounge, located on the first floor of the building and enjoyed what I can call, gin & tonics with a view. (A Gin will cost you around $17 plus service and tax, which you can round-up to $22)

We asked for them to be served in a wine glass and no one batted an eye lid. Even better, each day they remembered ‘our preference’ – which was kind of followed by other guests too!

After dinner, we did go to the main bar, but as I said before, we found it very quiet at around 9pm. Cocktails are $15 (+service + tax) and we ended up going to the room earlier than normal as we did feel a bit lonely at times.

The Spa at Baros Maldives

As the weather wasn’t brilliant at times, the spa was our to-to place when it rained (in the afternoon). We had a massage every day (60 mins for $159 ++) and one day we even tried a private yoga class ($60 ++ per person).

Most hotel spas in the Maldives are ‘over water’ and I loved that this one was inland – very different and so so so green. It had ‘little houses’ which were self-contained treatment rooms and the therapists really were fantastic.

What do to at Baros Maldives

I know many readers worry about going to the Maldives ‘as there is nothing to do’. I have said many times that you need to be prepared for something unique: Maldives time. It goes so quickly, it is quite unbelievable.

We had planned to do some SUP and other things (like a sandbank picnic and the unique breakfast in the middle of the ocean), but the weather did not allow it. But when we had sun, which was actually every day for at least half the day, we did something we are very good at: we went to the beach where we swam, sat and read.

And we did it again and again…

But the highlight was a private snorkelling session ($100 for 2) – which I highly recommend you do at the beginning. You will then know where to go, etc. And you also get photos!

Final thoughts

It was easy to see why most people go to Baros and return time after time. The island is small – but not too small – but everything has a purpose and place. The service was really attentive and friendly (lots of smiles), the rooms were exceptional and the food was really good too.

And the sunsets were not bad either ?

Until the next time!

xo

Mrs. O

Factbox and disclaimer: I was a guest of Sovereign Luxury, who organised this trip. Opinions are, as always, my own (but I loved it, promise).

Sovereign ( Tel: +44 1293 765 003) is offering a seven-night holiday to the Maldives staying at the five-star Baros Maldives in a Pool Villa on B&B basis from £3,895 per person – a saving of up to £1006 per couple. The offer includes airport security fast track and access to UK private airport lounge (where available), airport transfers, and return international flights from London Heathrow with Qatar Airways in economy class. For business class flights, the cost is £5,279 per person. Based on departures 14 May 2017.

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I almost always visit California in the Summer – I go for the long days, warming sunshine and beach walks. But this time around, I decided it was a good idea to explore California in the Winter and see how it could surprise me.

We started this trip immediately after Christmas and did go to Newport Beach and Santa Monica for a couple of days to see the many friends we have in the area. It is one of the things I love about California – we actually have more friends based there now and can never see all of them on each trip. So we keep going back.

Visit California suggested two things I could do on a winter trip: ski in Lake Tahoe and drink wine in Sonoma. Add a bit of shopping and it had the making of another perfect California road trip.

How to get to Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is located approximately 3 hours from San Francisco by car and about 9 hours drive from Los Angeles. You can easily drive it in one day, or fly, of course, but we chose to drive and break it up by staying a night in San Jose, which is about 3h30 drive from where we went in Lake Tahoe.

The lake is bordered by both California and Nevada and is marketed as north or south, so just to make things clear, we stayed in North Lake Tahoe, in the California side of it.

Where we skied in Lake Tahoe

Well, the way mountains work in this part of California is rather different from what we are used to in Europe. When I was planning the trip, I thought I was going to be bound to one resort town/village and I did not understand the mobility the region offers. You know what I mean – if you ski in Val d’Isere or Verbier, you stay there for the duration of your stay. You may ski across to another resort, but you wouldn’t go for dinner at all (because the drive up and down the mountain would make no sense).

What we didn’t expect was that the motorway from San Francisco goes to maybe 10 miles distance to Squaw Valley, where we based ourselves during this part of the trip. Remember the hour (or more) windy drive from the base of the mountain? Not here.

Each ski area (or mountain) is owned by a different company (or owner) – and sadly, no one markets the area as one, with a ski lift pass that would allow you to mountain hop. You can ski 3 different mountains in 3 days, but you need to buy 3 different lift passes.

Squaw Valley

Squaw Valley is where we stayed during our inaugural Lake Tahoe trip and I personally think it was a very good base as it was a very ‘central’ location.

You may have heard of Squaw, which is known for some of the best skiing in the area and also for hosting the Winter Olympics in 1960. The current village is a bit over 10 years old, with quite a few options to eat and shop (all the usual American ski brands are there).

We stayed at the Plumpjack Squaw Valley Inn which is also home to one of the most (almost too) popular bar in the area and ‘upscale’ (in American speak) dining. Our room was huge (albeit quite dated) and we enjoyed our stay. We found service to be very friendly, the wine list incredible (think half bottles of Taittinger at $33) as they are also wine merchants and known to sell wine at retail price and the food was good.

We weren’t so keen on how the bar area became a children’s playground from 5pm as everyone from everywhere came to have dinner in the bar area and you’d almost have to stand against a wall to hold a drink. America usually does all day dining very well, and something there didn’t quite work.

We have been told that the current building will be imploded soon and a new Plumpjack will be unveiled in 2020, so watch this space. I would still recommend it as an option to stay.

We hired our skis from the main rental place in Squaw (and took them with us in the car to the other ski resorts, as otherwise we would waste more time each day.

We enjoyed skiing in Squaw (I couldn’t quite believe that I skied after bring on crutches the day before, but the ski boot somehow helped me) – and yes, the ski-in ski-out Starbucks isn’t a myth.

Lunch at the ‘canteen’ on top of the mountain didn’t look particularly appealing (something that surprised me with this being in California), so we came down the mountain to the village and had a burger / grilled cheese at Rockers which was fine, but not exactly gourmet.

We booked a massage at the Trilogy Spa which was excellent. Priced at $130 for 90 minutes, it was also good value – and I am very grateful that the therapist understood my sprained foot and really helped me.

We had our first dinner (the evening we arrived) at the Plumpjack dining room (dinner for 2 was $215 excluding service) and on the second night, we went to Tahoe City (15 minutes drive away) and went to Wolfdale’s, which is known to be one of the best places around.

We found it quite old school (which is absolutely fine), but not as inspiring as we thought, except for the Caesar salad (epic) and the Baked Tahoe desert which was excellent (a version of what ‘we’ Brits call Baked Alaska). Dinner for 2 was $170 (excluding service).

Lift passes cost from $89 (advance purchase) to $179 per day (if bought at the resort).

Northstar

Northstar is the most upmarket of all resorts in Lake Tahoe (owned by Vail Resorts) and where we were going to be based initially (with the Ritz Carlton being the place to stay). We went on an exceptionally busy week (first week of January) and there was one room available at $1600/night (normal rates are around $300-400, and at Plumpjack, we got the very last room for around $550/night, with its rates being around $250-350).

But things happen for a reason and I still think Squaw was a great base.

We were told we had to park and ride in Northstar, but walking wasn’t easy for me (nor was I interested in parking and riding). When we drove all the way to the centre of the resort… we had one of those ‘only in America’ moments, when we realised we could valet park our car right there. These were the best $60 spent all day.

We queued quite a bit to get our ski passes – we felt Northstar was much busier than Squaw. We really enjoyed the skiing, but were quite let down by lunch. We wanted to try lunch ‘on the mountain’ as it made no sense for us to come all the way down to the village and have a meal (as we were just skiing there for one day and only really got on the slopes just before noon), and went to this massive school-style cafeteria. We were given a $200 voucher (which we found excessive) and what you see on the photo below cost $87. Absolutely not worth it – and I really hope they sort this out as skiers do deserve better. And it is California (where we eat always so well).

Apres-ski in Northstar was quite fun – we had our coffees spiked with Baileys (and then looked at everyone drinking coffee in a completely different way), and had a lovely glass of wine and crudité platter at Petra (which I am sure would make for a great venue for dinner).

Our plans were different as we left the main resort and made our way to the Ritz Carlton North Lake Tahoe where we changed for dinner and got to see what whole marshmellow experience was all about (which was very popular). It was interesting to see how different apres-ski was there. Also their lunch (BBQ) looked pretty good, so this is an option for sure on a future trip.

We had cocktails (the best dirty martini of the trip) and dinner at Manzanita – and I have to say, complete redemption in the culinary stakes at dinner. We had a whole fire roasted stripe bass (I love being surprised) and a meal to really remember. Dinner and drinks for 2 were $240 excluding service.

Lift passes at Northstar cost from $143 per day (advance purchase) to $163 (bought on the day).

Homewood Mountain

Homewood was the absolute wildcard of the trip – and I have to say, a place that stole my heart. If you would consider both Squaw and Northstar as proper ski resorts, Homewood would be the opposite. It was as basic as it gets – but wonderfully pure, in a way I have never seen a mountain like this in my life.

There’s a (free) car park, there’s a shed where you get your lift passes and a coffee and some huts which are the ski school. There’s a chairlift up and once you get up there – you will be greeted by some of the most beautiful views I have ever experienced in my life.

Lake Tahoe is there for you to enjoy. I did not ski much – my foot was killing me, which was not a bad thing as my husband got to ski ‘for real’ (without me slowing him down) with Laura, our ski guide.

They dropped me at the Big Blue bar (well, a tent) where I sunbathed a little and absolutely enjoyed the views before lunch.

I took the chairlift down and couldn’t quite believe that they had no hand rail bars – going up was interesting, but going down not so much.

Lunch took place at the West Shore Café, across the road from the car park, also owned by the same company who owns Homewood Mountain and it was lovely. It was good to see a table with a white table cloth and hands down the best ‘mountain meal’ we had, which was made up of American classics such as Caesar salad, crab cakes, fish tacos and calamari.

The views were incredible. Lift passes cost from $49 (advance purchase) to $109 (bought on the day)

Truckee

For our final dinner, we went to Truckee, which is a lovely town between Squaw and Northstar (kind of). It looked incredibly unique (like in the old American films) and it is home to Trokay, where we had the best meal of our trip. We chose to go a la carte instead of the tasting menus (which was very reasonable at $105/person for the 5-course prix fixe or $210 for the chef’s 7-course menu) – but we couldn’t do 5 courses. If you are in the area, you can’t miss dinner here. Dinner for two was $250 excluding service.

Thank you Lake Tahoe

Never ever had I considered skiing in California – and I am so glad we got the chance to. The quality of the snow was excellent, we loved being able to ski in different places – and I still cannot get over the views of Lake Tahoe.

The area has had incredible amounts of snow – we escaped a huge white out which came the day we left for Sonoma and if you are starting or ending a California roadtrip in San Francisco, I would absolutely recommend a visit. I would actually like to go back in the Summer as I could really see the potential.

As I said before, California is the gift that keeps on giving for us…

Until the next time

Xo

Mrs. O

Disclaimer and Fact box: this trip was funded and sponsored by Visit California and it was an absolute pleasure (and honour) to work with them on this trip. I know California very well and they have asked me to share this in whichever way I saw fit. I would invite you to begin your California trip planning at their website, which actually is quite useful.

British Airways flies to San Francisco and San Jose in Northern California (which are 3-4 hours drive away) and you can fly London Heathrow from £1800 in business class, but average fares are around £2500-3000. The most local airport is Reno.

We hired a car with Avis (if you are a fellow BAEC Gold, use N744400 as your AWD). Our SUV was $50/day including all taxes.

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Spring is almost here and it is time to change some of my skin care routine – this time I am bringing back some all-time favourites because some items really are staples and I cannot really live without them.

Aesop Mouthwash

I bought this without trying it first (not very easy to) and in all honesty, I hadn’t realised it had aniseed, even though it very clearly says so in the bottle, which is a taste I don’t particularly like (unlike most people). I bought it purely because of its container – mouthwashes holders are not the nicest and this looks perfect. My husband loved the taste and had it all, and we have now refilled with our favourite mouthwash.

La Mer Eye Concentrate 15ml

We both use this La Mer cult item – and have been doing so for almost two years, and it is our favourite. It does work – lines are smoother and really plumps up the eye – and the process of applying is actually quite soothing. It is worth the investment and it lasts.

Balance Me Flash Cleanse Micellar Water

I still love the Bioderma Micellar Water, but have been alternating with the Balance Me range, which I am discovering bit by bit and am really enjoying. The range is as natural as possible and I love the subtle fragrance of every product. In this case, I love the packaging too.

Rosie for Autograph Divine Sugar Body Scrub

Hands down the best body scrub available in the UK – and incredible value as well. It is a ‘hard’ scrub and incredibly effective. In my opinion, I have not found anything that even compares (and I have been using the Clarins Tonic for over 10 years). It sells out regularly (it is a best seller), so when I buy it, I tend to stock up.

Korres Ginger & Lime Shower Gel

I really like Korres shower gels and and their recent revamp is really good. The scents are quite interesting and it was a tough call between the Bergamot + Jasmine or this Ginger + Lime. They are great value too.

I hope you find this list useful – I have tried and tested every product and some are firm favourites for year.

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